Trade pact proposal has U.S. upside
BY NANCY COLE
Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/story/adg/105823
A proposal to liberalize U.S. trade with six Central American and
Caribbean nations has received broad support from U.S. agricultural
groups. But the fate of the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic
Free Trade Agreement remains uncertain.
Negotiations for the regional pact began in January 2003, shortly
after Congress granted trade promotion, or "fast track," authority to
President Bush. On May 28, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
signed an agreement with five Central American countries — Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The Dominican
Republic, on the island of Hispaniola, subsequently signed the accord
on Aug. 5.
Although El Salvador's legislature has ratified DR-CAFTA, the pact
awaits approval and implementing legislation in the six other
countries. Under "fast track," Congress cannot amend DR-CAFTA.
The Bush administration is expected to formally submit DRCAFTA to
Congress during the first half of this year. Members of Arkansas'
congressional delegation are, by and large, taking a wait-and-see
attitude. "International trade should be a two-way street that
benefits both parties fairly," said Sen. Blanche Lincoln.
And Sen. Mark Pryor said he supports trade agreements "that open new
markets to our products as long as the playing field is level." But he
also mentioned several specific concerns that he has about DR-CAFTA.
"CAFTA could have meaningful benefits for Arkansas.... However, I am
concerned about the environmental and labor provisions and the impact
of the concessions in the textile/apparel and sugar sectors will be
damaging to U.S. industries," Pryor said.
Mickey Paggi, director of the Center for Agricultural Business at
California State University in Fresno, said U.S. agriculture faces few
downsides with DRCAFTA. "The first thing that strikes you about that
particular agreement is that 99 percent of the agricultural products
coming from those countries already enter the United States
duty-free," said Paggi, citing existing programs like the Caribbean
Basin Initiative. "We've got an agreement that, if it's enacted,
creates market-access opportunities for U.S. agricultural products."
Ron Heck, chairman of the American Soybean Association, said, "It's a
very good deal for soybeans."
DR-CAFTA would immediately eliminate tariffs on U.S. soybeans, soybean
meal and soybean flour, and tariffs on U.S. soybean oil would be
phased out over a 12- to 15-year period. The pact also liberalizes
quotas and tariffs on U.S. exports of pork and pork products.
Increased U.S. production of pork would have an added impact because
hogs account for more than 20 percent of U.S. soybean-meal
consumption.
Since 2001, the United States has exported an average of more than
$238 million worth of soybean products annually to the DR-CAFTA
nations. "It's a market that's naturally ours because of the
proximity," Heck said.
Soybeans are Arkansas' No. 1 crop. In 2004 the state ranked ninth in
U.S. soybean production, growing almost 4 percent of the nation's
crop.
The prospect of U.S. rice exports to the region under the agreement
also is positive, but not quite as simple as that for soybeans.
Rice is considered a "sensitive" product in Central America and the
Caribbean because it's a dietary staple throughout the region. As a
result, DR-CAFTA's tariff reductions for rice are "backloaded," said
Eric Wailes, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas.
Backloading means that the DR-CAFTA countries are compelled to reduce
their tariffs only after 18 to 20 years.
Rice tariffs in the region also are subject to "tariff escalation,"
said Wailes, "where basically you have higher tariffs on the
valueadded products, like milled rice, compared to rough rice." Over
time, DR-CAFTA will "harmonize" tariff rates for rough and milled
rice, he said.
Bob Cummings, vice president for international policy at USA Rice
Federation, said his group is "strongly supportive" of DR-CAFTA. "We
are going to get some small immediate access for milled rice, we're
going to preserve the very large rough rice market that we have, and
then we're going to have prospects down the road for the market to
decide what kind of rice is going to get shipped there," Cummings
said.
Since 2001, the United States has averaged more than $84 million
annually in rice exports to the DR-CAFTA region. Arkansas, the leading
rice state, produced 46.5 percent of the nation's 2004 crop.
The U.S. poultry industry also "is solidly behind CAFTA," said Toby
Moore, vice president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.
Central American countries had feared an influx of chicken leg
quarters, which account for about 55 percent of U.S. poultry exports
to the region, so the United States agreed to longer tariff-phase-out
schedules for leg quarters, Moore said. "In return, the Centrals
agreed to allow further processed products immediate access to zero
tariff," he said.
The DR-CAFTA countries also committed to recognizing the U.S. poultry
inspection system, thus eliminating an important non-tariff trade
barrier.
Since 2001, U.S. poultry exports to the DR-CAFTA region have averaged
$61 million annually. Arkansas is the nation's No. 2 poultry-producing
state. THIRD-COUNTRY PARTICIPATION
The U.S. cotton and textile industries have been less enthusiastic
about DR-CAFTA, "because it includes some opportunities for
third-country participation," said Gaylon Booker, a consultant and
former president of the National Cotton Council. "In other words,
allowances are made for something called 'tariff preference levels,'
which would allow a country like China to ship fabric into Central
America, have it used in garments, and enter the United States
dutyfree," Booker said. "Timely implementation of safeguards on China
textile exports into the U.S. market could possibly have some impact
on whether the U.S. cotton industry would be willing to reconsider its
opposition to this current CAFTA."
Assurance of such quid pro quo legislation, however, "is sort of hard
to come by," he added.
U.S. cotton exports to the DRCAFTA countries have averaged more than
$55 million annually since 2000. In 2004, Arkansas ranked fourth in
U.S. cotton production, growing almost 9.1 percent of the nation's
crop.
One sector within U.S. agriculture has been outspoken in its
opposition to DR-CAFTA.
U.S. sugar cane and sugar beet producers say the pact would destroy
their industry by permitting an influx of sugar imports.
Sugar cane is grown in four states — principally Florida and Louisiana
— and sugar beets are grown in 12 states — the most important being
Minnesota, Idaho, North Dakota and Michigan. Arkansas produces neither
crop.
Since the War of 1812, the United States government has treated sugar
as a "sensitive product," guaranteeing U.S. producers a minimum price
that is above world prices and placing a ceiling on sugar imports.
U.S. trade negotiators defend DR-CAFTA's sugar provisions, saying
their concessions on import quotas equate to less than 2 percent of
annual U.S. sugar consumption.
Rob Paarlberg, a political scientist at Wellesley College in
Massachusetts, said negotiators learned their lesson after completing
the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.
"They underestimated Mexico's ability to become a net exporter of
sugar," said Paarlberg, "and the NAFTA agreement is going to give
Mexico duty-free access to the U.S. market after 2008."
IMPACT DISPUTED In August, the U.S. International Trade Commission
released its official analysis of the potential effects of DR-CAFTA,
concluding the agreement "would provide benefits to the U.S. economy
worth $166 million each year" once fully implemented. The report noted
that "some sectors of the U.S. economy are likely to experience
increased import competition... while other sectors are likely to
experience increased export opportunities." The study concluded that
any impact would be "minimal" given "the small economy and market
size" of the DR-CAFTA region. According to the commission, 2003
exports to DR-CAFTA countries amounted to $14.4 billion, about 2
percent of total U.S. exports, while imports totaled $16.9 billion, a
little less than 1.3 percent of total imports. Although the DR-CAFTA
market ranked just 12 th in terms of U.S. exports and 15 th in terms
of U.S. imports in 2003, it did represent the second largest U.S.
export market in Latin America, exceeded only by Mexico. Paarlberg
said the potential impact of trade agreements on the United States is
less a function of tariff reductions and more a function of the
economic growth and development that the agreements might generate.
"If CAFTA stimulates income growth in Central America, and it
stimulates growth across a broad base of the urban middle class,
that's going to be very good for U.S. exports — with or without trade
reductions at the border," he said. Parr Rosson, an agricultural
economist at Texas A&M University, expects DR-CAFTA to initially
benefit U.S. agricultural exporters of such high-end products as
processed foods and highquality beef. "Once everything is fully phased
in, you're probably looking at about $2 billion a year in additional
ag exports," said Rosson. But the DR-CAFTA region needs other
development assistance, he said, "if we expect to see those markets
become like a Mexico, for example." The National Farmers Union opposes
DR-CAFTA, saying the potential benefits for American agriculture are
exaggerated. "We think it just continues some of the failed trade
policies of the past, which obviously aren't working," said Tom Buis,
vice president of government relations for the union. "You know, we're
going to be a net importer of agriculture products this year for the
first time in 40 some years." Buis was critical of U.S. trade
negotiators, saying "they're negotiating on market access, domestic
subsidies and export subsidies, as opposed to some of the big factors
of trade that aren't being negotiated, like labor standards,
environmental and health standards, and currency differences. All
three are hugely important to America's farmers and ranchers because
it makes these other countries lower-cost producers of many of the
commodities."
OTHER OPPONENTS The international development and relief agency Oxfam
also "actively opposes" DRCAFTA, said Stephanie Weinberg, a
trade-policy adviser with Oxfam America. "What we believe it will do,
primarily, is displace large numbers of small and vulnerable farmers
across the region," Weinberg said. Such farmers won't be able to
compete against such heavily subsidized U.S. crops as rice, she said.
"We're concerned there is gong to be more displacement of jobs than
there is possible creation of jobs." " What we would like to see is
the U.S. really put all its efforts into completing a successful round
at the World Trade Organization Doha Development Round, "she said,
where agricultural subsidy issues are scheduled for negotiation.
A loose-knit group of social justice and solidarity organizations,
called the" Stop CAFTA Coalition, "in October wrote all 535 members of
Congress, asking them to vote no on DR-CAFTA for many of the same
reasons as Oxfam.
Opposition to the agreement also is coming from the U.S. Business and
Industry Council, which represents small- and mediumsized
manufacturers. Senior Fellow William Hawkins said the group opposes
DR-CAFTA because past trade agreements, like NAFTA, have created U.S.
trade deficits rather than surpluses.
" We're still the larger market and, when we have these mutually
market-opening agreements, naturally the larger market is the target,
which is us, and these smaller markets don't add up to very much for
us, "Hawkins said.
" When NAFTA was put in, we had a small trade surplus with Mexico. And
the object of NAFTA was to increase that surplus by giving us
preferential access to Mexico and also to cheaper Mexican labor as an
export platform for us to other parts of the world, "he said." The
problem, of course, is that we now have a huge trade deficit with
Mexico, and Mexico has become an export platform into the United
States. "
In addition to DR-CAFTA, U.S. trade negotiators recently concluded
similar free trade agreements with Singapore, Chile, Australia and
Morocco, and they're working on the Free Trade Area of the Americas,
which would encompass 34 economies.
One final aspect of trade agreements — namely, security interests —
shouldn't be forgotten, said agricultural economist Paggi.
" Where you have countries integrated into a global trading system,
either internationally or bilaterally, you tend to find a more stable
environment. When people are engaged in mutual commerce, the tendency
for conflict is decreased. "
Hike in egg price is temporary, says Rahim
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=32139
INDEPENDENT NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF EAST MALAYSIA
Established since 1963
Last Updated: Saturday, 22 January, 2005
WEEKLY SPECIAL
MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hike in egg price is temporary, says Rahim
Papar: Consumers should not be overly concerned over the reported
increase in the price of chicken eggs in the State lately, as this is
expected to be only temporary.
Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, Datuk Abdul Rahim Ismail, said
the price increase had to do with the increase in the price of
imported chicken feed as well as increase in demand for the product.
"The Ministry is confident the price increase will only be temporary,"
he said when asked about the matter at a meet-the-people session for
the Pantai Manis constituency at the Papar resthouse, Friday.
Grade A eggs are presently tagged at RM9 per tray (USD2.37/30 eggs) at
some of the malls in the State, and this is not much different from
the prices of other grades.
Nevertheless, he assured that the supply of chicken eggs was
sufficient to meet demand during the coming Chinese New Year.
Nearly 100 community leaders comprising village development and
security committees (JKKKs), village heads as well as heads of
government departments and agencies in the constituency attended the
session.
Abdul Rahim advised the community leaders not to be easily swayed by
rumours spread by irresponsible individuals who aim to split the unity
among the people.
"Instead, they should assist the government in channelling updated
information relating to government policies to the people under their
jurisdictionÉthey must also assist the Government's effort to achieve
the objective of the State's halatuju of development," he added.
During the event, Abdul Rahim who is Pantai Manis Assemblyman also
surrendered 10 cows and buffaloes meant for slaughtering in
conjunction with Hari Raya Aidil Adha.
The animals were handed over to every chairman of mosques within the
constituency.
Moark drops egg plant
http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=156619&c=87
Moark drops egg plant
Decision comes after weeks of protest
Roger McKinney
Globe Staff Writer
1/22/05
NEOSHO, Mo. - Egg-producer Moark has abandoned its plan to build an
egg-production farm in Cherokee County, the company's regional manager
said late Friday.
Dan Hudgens, Moark's Midwest regional manager, left a voice-mail
message Friday saying the company was no longer pursuing its plans for
Cherokee County.
He could not be reached immediately for further comment. A message
left for him was not returned.
Opposition to the plan surfaced even before the company officially
announced its plans.
Residents held meetings at which they voiced their concerns about the
potential of the operation to pollute farmland and water sources. Some
residents said they were concerned that the farm would deplete the
water resources of the county.
The Baxter Springs City Council, the Galena City Commission and the
Riverton School Board all recently adopted positions opposing Moark's
plan.
The company had previously dropped a plan to locate an egg-production
farm in Welch, Okla., also bowing to public protests.
Trey Clough, one of the organizers of the opposition, said the meeting
that had been scheduled for 2 p.m. today at the Riverton High School
auditorium will still take place, but it may be a celebration.
"I'm going to enjoy my evening," Clough said after hearing the news.
"I want to thank the community for standing together."
Hudgens said in his voice-mail message that he wouldn't be at the
meeting, because of the company's decision.
What else do you need in life with views like this in Arizona? 
"An egg fried in vegetable oil is a better breakfast choice than a white-flour bagel"
http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=Style&storyid=105231
FINDING FITNESS : Harvard has its own diet pyramid
JAN GAUGHAN
Posted on Monday, January 17, 2005
Email this story | Printer-friendly version
If you're a bit confused about what you should and shouldn't be eating
for good health, a leading nutrition researcher at Harvard University
thinks you have a legitimate complaint. Oversimplification and a rush
to publicize what hasn't been substantiated are the culprits, he says.
"The academic community has told people they should do one thing â
say, avoid eggs, or eat a lot of margarine â when the evidence was
really very minimal, in fact nonexistent in some situations," Dr.
Walter Willett told PBS' Frontline in an interview a year ago. "But
yet it was presented as though this was the absolute truth.
" Of course there's huge economic interests behind a lot of this,
"said Willett." The huge push for high consumption of dairy products
is really not based on good science, yet the public's been led to
believe it's absolutely essential to have your three glasses of milk a
day. "
Willett, who's a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of
Public Health, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and
the author of Eat, Drink and Be Merry: The Harvard Medical School
Guide to Healthy Eating, has never liked the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid, which he says is too vague and too
influenced by the agency's ties to agribusiness. He has created his
own Healthy Eating Pyramid.
His plan is based on the largest long-term dietary survey ever
undertaken, according to an article in the February 2004 issue of
Discover magazine. The 121,700-participant Nurses ' Health Study was
begun in 1976 by Frank Speizer, a professor at the medical school;
Willett has supervised its dietary assessments since 1980.
To make sure both sexes and two generations were included, he and some
colleagues also began tracking 52,000 men through a Health
Professionals Followup Study and 116,000 younger women through the
Nurses ' Health Study II.
Men who most closely followed his Healthy Eating Pyramid guidelines
lowered their risk of major chronic disease by 20 percent, and women
in that group lowered theirs by 11 percent. That's compared to reduced
risks of 11 percent and 3 percent for men and women whose diets most
closely followed the Agriculture Department's Food Guide Pyramid,
according to the December 2002 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
At the base of Willett's Healthy Eating Pyramid is regular exercise.
It's included because it's essential to all the goals you're trying to
achieve by eating a healthy diet, he told Frontline." And this is also
a message that all forms of calories are important. "
One of Willett's chief complaints about the current Agriculture
Department pyramid is that a nutrition guideline should emphasize the"
right kinds" of protein, carbohydrates and fat, rather than demonizing
a whole category. And he says the department urges carbohydrates in
large amounts, but the pyramid doesn't make it clear that most of
these should be whole grains, and fruits and vegetables with a low
glycemic level.
Right above exercise, unsaturated fats share double billing with whole
grains in Willett's pyramid. (The current Agriculture pyramid lumps
all fats and oils in with sweets at the peak, advising you to "use
sparingly. ")
He advocates brown rice, whole wheat bread and oats â refined,
white-flour products are a no-no.
" The evidence is quite clear that it's perfectly fine to get more
than 30 percent of your calories from fat, if it's the healthy form of
fat, "Willett said. That would be plant oils such as olive oil,
canola, corn, sunflower and other vegetable oils, not fats that are
solid at room temperature, such as shortening and meat grease. If you
simply must have either butter or margarine, Willett says to go for
butter, because it's saturated fat but at least it's not trans fat,
the worse of the two.
Willett believes the department's 5-A-Day program regarding fruits and
vegetables doesn't make it clear enough that five servings is a bare
minimum. And he wants us to eat more nuts and legumes. We can get
calcium from spinach and other sources and should also strengthen our
bones through exercise, he says â we needn't consume as much dairy as
the department advocates. And unlike the agency's pyramid, Willett's
puts red meat, along with butter, sweets, white bread and white rice,
in the" use sparingly" category.
As for eggs, "No research has ever shown that people who eat more eggs
have more heart attacks than people who eat fewer eggs," Willett
maintained in the Discoverarticle. An egg fried in vegetable oil is a
better breakfast choice than a white-flour bagel, he said.
The Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human
Services last week issued new federal dietary guidelines that
emphasize exercise and portion control, and reiterate what Agriculture
has been urging at its Web site lately â that Americans should make
more of their grain choices whole wheat, and more of their fats
unsaturated. Will the revised Food Guide Pyramid, due out in a couple
of months, look more like Willett's?
You can compare the two pyramids yourself at www. hsph. harvard.
edu/nutritionsource/pyr amids. html. Copy editor Jan Gaughan's column
appears every other week. E-mail her at jan _ gaughan@adg.ardemgaz.com
It is almost scary. From this writer's works we learn that the egg white may hold the key to the creation of artificial life. Will we still sell it for 40 cents/lb? The jury is out. Dean Hughson, THE EGGMAN
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2005/01/16/2003219652
9. Whether artificial life is a flash in the pan or a new industry.
"Vesicle bioreactors" are the Scrapheap Challenge of biology. A crude artificial cell, they have walls made from fats in egg white and contain the contents of an E coli cell stripped of its genes, plus a virus enzyme to decode DNA.
Distinctly unpromising -- yet when genes are added, they dutifully churn out proteins just like normal cells would. These are the recently announced brainchild of Albert Lichlaber at Rockefeller University. They could be the early entrants to a new field, synthetic biology, in which entire organisms are built from scratch.
(NOTE: Read more about Dr. Lichlaber at http://www.rockefeller.edu/research/abstract.php?id=93
read his work at:
http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041206/pf/041206-2_pf.html
Organic farmers get break on promotion fees
http://www.modbee.com/business/story/9774039p-10637265c.html
Organic farmers get break on promotion fees
By MICHAEL DOYLE
BEE WASHINGTON BUREAU
Last Updated: January 15, 2005, 06:02:12 AM PST
WASHINGTON â Uncle Sam will now cut California organic farmers some slack.
Many nonorganic farmers must still pay mandatory promotion fees, at
least until the Supreme Court rules otherwise. But even as the
justices consider whether such mandatory fees violate the First
Amendment, some organic farmers will get a free pass.
"I think advertising should be voluntary, not compulsory," Fresno
County fruit farmer Dan Gerawan said Friday. "The message of promotion
programs is that the product is generic. I want to differentiate my
product, not lump it with the rest of the industry. I suspect that the
organic growers have that same desire."
Gerawan has been fighting mandatory promotion fees for years. Though
he's a conventional rather than organic grower, he applauded the new
Agriculture Department rules made final Friday that spell out the
organic farming exemption from mandatory assessments.
For some, the result could be thousands of dollars of savings
annually. Others consider the mandatory assessments worth the price.
"From my perspective, I don't mind supporting the marketing order with
assessment pennies," said Wendy Larson, general manager of the
Turlock-based Big Tree Organic Farms. "Marketing order promotions are
designed to convey positive, generic messages about a farm product. It
doesn't matter if the product is organic or not, if the message builds
sales."
The new rules cover 17 federal research and promotion programs and 28
federal marketing orders. While these programs differ in some
respects, they have in common a mandatory fee that pays for
advertising and marketing. The mandatory fees, for instance, funded
such slogans as "Cotton: The Fabric of Our Lives," "Got Milk?" and
"The Incredible Edible Egg."
The programs are especially prevalent in California, because of the
state's agricultural diversity.
Their long-term future is now being decided by the Supreme Court,
which in 2001 struck down a mushroom promotion program and which is
now weighing a challenge to a beef promotion program.
The new rules don't confront the constitutional issue.
Instead, the rules specify only certified, purely organic handlers are
eligible for the exemption. Whatever the individual produces must be
organic.
Producers can start seeking exemptions next month.
U.S. plastic egg industry a shell of its former self
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/14/BUGQUAQ3R71.DTL&type=business
Friday, January 14, 2005
U.S. plastic egg industry a shell of its former self
America's sole maker of plastic Easter eggs has cracked under the
pressure of competition from Asia.
Bleyer Industries Inc. of Long Island last week filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection, saying it has lost too much business to rivals
in China. The company sold its plants in Hauppauge, N.Y., and Mount
Union, Pa., keeping one in Peoria, Ill., and is seeking a partner to
survive.
"It's been very stressful to all of us after all these years,"
Nicholas Poulis, Bleyer's president, said Thursday. Poulis and his
brother, Gus, Bleyer's chief executive, have been overseeing plastic
Easter egg manufacturing since 1991, when they acquired a bankrupt
company, Peoria Plastics.
About 250 million of the colorful plastic toys were made every year at
the Peoria plant, and were sold by some of the United States' largest
retailers -- Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us. But, Nicholas Poulis
said, "In the past five to seven years, there's been a lot of
competition," mostly from China.
Nicholas Poulis said that the company spent millions to upgrade and
automate its molding and packaging equipment at the Peoria plant. But
Gus Poulis said that exceptionally low labor costs in China -- as low
as 20 to 30 cents per hour, compared with about $9 an hour plus fringe
benefits in the United States -- proved too formidable.
Several upset with MoArk's plant plans
http://www.neoshodailynews.com/articles/2005/01/13/news/news01.txt
Several upset with MoArk's plant plans
By JOHN FORD / Daily News Associate Editor
RIVERTON, Kan. -- Suppose your neighbor owned 180 acres and wanted to
put more than 78,000 head of cattle on his property.
According to one Cherokee County man, that is exactly what is
happening near Riverton, Kan.
Brett Warstler, who owns an auto parts store in Seneca, believes MoArk
Productions' proposal to locate a 2.6- to 3.2-million chicken
operation on 160-180 acres near Spring River and Riverton will have
the same impact as 78,085 head of 700-pound cattle in the same space.
"That's a lot of cows," he said. "In Cherokee County right now, there
are only 15,000 full-sized cattle between 1,000 and 1,800 pounds. If
you count cows and calves, its a total of about 23,000."
Warstler and other speakers told a crowd of several hundred at the
Riverton High School auditorium that confined animal feeding
operations (CAFOs) like the proposed MoArk facility would have a
detrimental effect to the area's environment. The plant plans to
locate along the banks of Shawnee Creek, a tributary of Spring River.
MoArk officials were invited to Wednesday's town-hall style meeting,
but did not attend.
Many of the speakers contended the operation would increase nutrient
levels in the creek and nearby Spring River, resulting in
oxygen-depleting algae blooms and fish kills. Some said these
chemicals include nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.
Others told of cysts developing on the livers of fish in the river.
Another told of limits placed on eating fish out of Grand Lake o' the
Cherokees after high levels of lead and cadmium was found in the
waters.
Scott Dye, of the Sierra Club's Division of Water Sentinels, said
litter management would be a problem, as an 875,000 bird facility in
Anderson produces 1.09 million tons of manure. Citing Internet
research, one speaker said one chicken can produce between 62 and 95
pounds of litter in its lifetime.
"The bottom line is this has repercussions on fish, wildlife and the
environment," said Debbie Fitzgerald, a Cherokee County property
owner.
Much of the litter is dried and then applied to cropland. However,
speakers at Wednesday's meeting said, the litter often contains
chicken guts, feathers, bones and whole dead birds.
McDonald County environmentalist Al Midoux was one of the speakers,
and said he has seen dead birds on a neighbor's barbed wire fence
after land application of chicken litter. In past interviews, Midoux
said he has seen dogs and coyotes killed on McDonald County roadways
who were trying to get at dead chickens which had fallen from
transport trucks. But the worst part, he said, was that runoff from
poultry operations has ruined fishing.
"Ninety-five percent of the fish caught from Kansas to Grand Lake have
sores similar to pfisteria," he said. "It's a wonder that it's not
pfisteria.
"But let me tell you about the MoArk I know," the rural Anderson
resident added. "They have about 850,000 birds in a facility, and they
put out about 275,000 gallons a day of liquid manure. They pump this
into a huge pit, along with broken eggs. The dead hens also go into
the pit and are agitated with water, then pumped into trucks and
dumped out on karst terrain."
Dye cited a number of examples about environmental problems in a
number of chicken houses across the country, including those at area
MoArk plants, many of which dealt with land application of chicken
litter. Other complaints against the company dealt with odors.
Carl Hayes of the Cherokee County Health Department, said he was
concerned about the amount of water which would be used by the
facility. He said since shallow aquifer sources in Cherokee County
were already contaminated with heavy metals left over from the area's
lead and zinc mining days, well drillers were having to tap into the
deeper Roubidoux aquifer for water in the area. Within 10 years, he
said, this source could be depleted in that area, with people then
having to turn to surface water for their needs.
Herein lies his concern: MoArk, he said, proposes to use about 130,000
to 200,000 gallons of surface water each day for their cooling towers
and other operations. Once this water is used, it cannot be
immediately replaced back to the river, as it contains chemicals
detrimental to stream health.
He said Kansas' Department of Health had advised the stream was
improving, although it advised against eating shellfish taken from the
river because of high lead and cadmium levels.
"When I talked to the state last, they told me they were seeing
improvement in Elk River," he said. "But be also aware that the
pollution took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and it's taken
100 years for the stream to return to normal."
He said recent logging in the area would also be of detriment to the
stream, particularly if those fields were used for land application of
chicken litter. The trees can slow down, if not filter out, runoff
laced with phosphorus and nitrogen.
In concluding Wednesday's session, Warstler said people should be
aware of the size of the proposed operation.
"They call themselves a farm, but they're not a farm, they're a
factory," he said. "It's an egg producing factory, not an egg farm."
http://www.asahi.com/english/business/TKY200501130145.html
12 months on, bird flu fear stalks poultry farmers
The Asahi Shimbun
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A year after a bird flu outbreak was snuffed out, the poultry industry
still has a bad case of the shakes.
Egg prices remain 50 percent higher than in February 2004 due to
supply shortages.
Farmers are nervous about replenishing their egg-laying stocks, in
fear of another outbreak.
The government, meanwhile, is taking flak for what critics say has
been an ineffective response to the country's first case of avian
influenza in 79 years.
After cutting a swathe through bird populations across Asia, the
disease touched down in Japan on Jan. 12 last year, when a case was
reported at a poultry farm in Ato, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The situation was quickly contained, and no more incidents have been
reported in Japan.
A bird flu death was detected at a duck farm in southern South Korea
late last year, but the virus was of a less harmful type.
Even so, the repercussions of last year's outbreak continue.
Sales of eggs plunged for a short time after the infection appeared as
the country's health authorities raced to quarantine the affected
area.
As prices did a swan dive, poultry farmers responded by choking back
production. When the squawking was over, the country's stock of 140
million egg-laying chickens had been trimmed by several percent.
But while customers were quick to regain confidence in the product,
farmers have been much slower to return to business as usual.
``Some producers are reluctant to increase production because bird flu
may strike again, and prices would go down,'' says one industry
official.
The country's bird flu detection system remains unchanged: Foul owners
are required to report suspicious deaths to the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
To help encourage vigilance, harsher penalties have been introduced
under the Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control Law. An owner
who neglects to report infections faces a prison term of up to three
years, or a fine of up to 1 million yen.
Previously, the punishment was a maximum one-year imprisonment or a
fine up to 500,000 yen.
Since March, poultry owners who notice birds dying in an abnormal
manner must continue reporting to the ministry every week.
The government has also been urging poultry farmers to use windowless
henhouses to keep out wild birds, a common source of infection.
Though subsidies are on offer, few have made the switch as the grants
are only available to co-ops of small-scale farmers. Many of the
nation's henhouses operate on a large scale.
Poultry officials expect the supply shortage and high prices to remain
for some time.
The average price of a 10-egg carton of medium-size eggs was 224 yen
for the two weeks through Jan. 7, according to a survey by the
agriculture ministry.
Although this was the first price decline in five months, it marked
the highest figure for the month of January since 1991.
Poultry farmers started to increase the number of egg-laying hens last
summer, but the pace is slow, as it takes nearly six months for
hatched chicks to start producing eggs.(IHT/Asahi: January 13,2005)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/14/BUGQUAQ3R71.DTL&type=business
Friday, January 14, 2005 U.S. plastic egg industry a shell of its former self
America's sole maker of plastic Easter eggs has cracked under the pressure of competition from Asia.
Bleyer Industries Inc. of Long Island last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it has lost too much business to rivals in China. The company sold its plants in Hauppauge, N.Y., and Mount Union, Pa., keeping one in Peoria, Ill., and is seeking a partner to survive.
"It's been very stressful to all of us after all these years," Nicholas Poulis, Bleyer's president, said Thursday. Poulis and his brother, Gus, Bleyer's chief executive, have been overseeing plastic Easter egg manufacturing since 1991, when they acquired a bankrupt company, Peoria Plastics.
About 250 million of the colorful plastic toys were made every year at the Peoria plant, and were sold by some of the United States' largest retailers -- Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us. But, Nicholas Poulis said, "In the past five to seven years, there's been a lot of competition," mostly from China.
Nicholas Poulis said that the company spent millions to upgrade and automate its molding and packaging equipment at the Peoria plant. But Gus Poulis said that exceptionally low labor costs in China -- as low as 20 to 30 cents per hour, compared with about $9 an hour plus fringe benefits in the United States -- proved too formidable.
Brussels clears millions of euros to up food profiles
http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-NG.asp?n=57217-brussels-clears-millions
Brussels clears millions of euros to up food profiles
To freeze animation, right-hand click on 'Play'.
Related News
New risk plans for salmonella
Eggshells the answer to beating salmonella
Egg safety legislation gives industry cause for concern
UK egg production: sunny side up or still scrambled?
All news for January 2005
All news for December 2004
11/01/2005 - The olive oil, egg and mushroom industry will all benefit
from new funding earmarked by Brussels to raise the profile of a
handful of food products.
The European Commission has approved â⬠24 million to go towards twenty
programmes in eleven member states.
Focused solely on the internal market, Brussels decided four years ago
to assist in financing measures that provide information on, or
promote agricultural products and food in the EU-25.
Measures covered include public relations, promotional or publicity
actions, and in particular those that highlight the advantages of EU
products, especially in terms of quality, hygiene, food safety,
nutrition and labelling.
Funding will also cover information campaigns on the EU system of
protected designations of origin (PDO), protected geographical
indications (PGI) and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), as well
as information on EU quality and labelling systems.
According to the Commission, the â⬠24 million represents 50 per cent
of the overall required costs for the new measures, with the remainder
to be met by the professional/inter-branch organisations that
originally fielded the measures to Brussels, together with
contributions from the member states concerned.
Three different European organisations proposed promotional efforts
for eggs, a sign that the industry is still keen to boost the image of
this common ingredient knocked by links to outbreaks of the harmful
salmonella bacteria.
The UK Food Standards Agency and the Health Protection Agency (HPA)
recently announced that following recent investigations since 2002
into more than 80 outbreaks of Salmonella enteritidis, with 2000
confirmed and an estimated 6000 potential cases, they have decided to
step up action against the common bacteria, many of which have been
linked to Spanish eggs used in the catering trade.
The UK is still recovering from wide outbreaks of Salmonella
enteritidis in the 1980s that knocked the local egg industry however
figures now show that the number of cases in England and Wales has
decreased significantly, from 16,047 cases in 1998 to 9757 cases in
2003 mainly due to industry control programmes, including the
vaccination of chicken flocks.
According to the British Egg Information Service total production in
the UK is around 8,800 tonnes per annum with a current value in the
region of ã16.3 million.
Consumers Union Concerned That U.S., Canadian Governments Are Not Protecting Public
Consumers Union Concerned That U.S., Canadian Governments Are Not Protecting
Public From Mad Cow Risk
Author: Consumers Union
Published on Jan 12, 2005
A second mad cow in less than two weeks was confirmed today from Alberta,
Canada according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) -- bringing the
total number to four confirmed mad cow cases in North America in less than
two years. This cow is the very first to be born after the 1997 ban of ruminant
protein in animal feed went into effect in Canada and the U.S. Cattle feed
containing ruminants is the means by which scientists believe that mad cow
disease is spread.
"This latest case of mad cow highlights that dangerous loopholes in both
countries' laws still exist," says Michael Hansen, PhD, a scientist with
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports and advisor to its
www.NotinMyFood.org campaign. "In the United States, for example, the
Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) still allows cattle remains to be fed to other
animals, such as
pigs, and chickens, whose remains can then be fed back to cows. Even
the remains
of an animal known to carry a form of mad cow disease could go into rendered
feed, under current FDA rules," Hansen added.
Consumers Union also remains extremely concerned not only that the feed bans
in Canada and the United States are inadequate, but that they are not well
enforced. According to a letter issued by Senator Conrad and Representative
Waxman to Governor Johanns (the current nominee for Secretary of Agriculture),
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued several "import alerts" on
Canadian animal feed suspected of containing prohibited feed material.
The CFIA conducted a study that confirmed that over two-thirds of Canadian
animal feed and almost half of imported animal feed labeled as "vegetarian"
contained animal materials. As recently as Dec. 10, 2004, Canadian regulators
conceded that their feed ban was not completely effective and that
opportunities for banned materials to enter into animal feed still existed and,
therefore, proposed strengthening the standards of their animal feed
ban. However,
Consumers Union does not believe that the proposed standards go far enough.
Nevertheless, the USDA has proposed to reopen the border to beef trade with
Canada.
With so much uncertainty about the safety of animal feed and public health
consequences, Consumers Union believes that:
1. The U.S. should keep the border closed and prohibit beef imports from
Canada at this time,
2. The U.S. and Canada should eliminate deficiencies in their feed ban
rules, including the prohibition of blood and bone meal. In addition, the U.S.
should also ban food waste and poultry litter including excrement in
animal feed.
3. The U.S. and Canada should adopt and implement the animal feed
restrictions recommended by the international expert subcommittee to
USDA's Foreign
Animal and Poultry Disease Advisory Committee, which includes adequate
enforcement of the feed ban through an inspection program including sampling and
testing of animal feed.
4. All cows over 20 months old should be tested for BSE.
For more information, please visit Consumers Union's dedicated Web site to
food safety at www.NotinMyFood.org.
Brussels clears millions of euros to up food profiles
http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-NG.asp?n=57217-brussels-clears-millions
Brussels clears millions of euros to up food profiles
To freeze animation, right-hand click on 'Play'.
Related News
New risk plans for salmonella
Eggshells the answer to beating salmonella
Egg safety legislation gives industry cause for concern
UK egg production: sunny side up or still scrambled?
All news for January 2005
All news for December 2004
11/01/2005 - The olive oil, egg and mushroom industry will all benefit
from new funding earmarked by Brussels to raise the profile of a
handful of food products.
The European Commission has approved ⬠24 million to go towards twenty
programmes in eleven member states.
Focused solely on the internal market, Brussels decided four years ago
to assist in financing measures that provide information on, or
promote agricultural products and food in the EU-25.
Measures covered include public relations, promotional or publicity
actions, and in particular those that highlight the advantages of EU
products, especially in terms of quality, hygiene, food safety,
nutrition and labelling.
Funding will also cover information campaigns on the EU system of
protected designations of origin (PDO), protected geographical
indications (PGI) and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), as well
as information on EU quality and labelling systems.
According to the Commission, the ⬠24 million represents 50 per cent
of the overall required costs for the new measures, with the remainder
to be met by the professional/inter-branch organisations that
originally fielded the measures to Brussels, together with
contributions from the member states concerned.
Three different European organisations proposed promotional efforts
for eggs, a sign that the industry is still keen to boost the image of
this common ingredient knocked by links to outbreaks of the harmful
salmonella bacteria.
The UK Food Standards Agency and the Health Protection Agency (HPA)
recently announced that following recent investigations since 2002
into more than 80 outbreaks of Salmonella enteritidis, with 2000
confirmed and an estimated 6000 potential cases, they have decided to
step up action against the common bacteria, many of which have been
linked to Spanish eggs used in the catering trade.
The UK is still recovering from wide outbreaks of Salmonella
enteritidis in the 1980s that knocked the local egg industry however
figures now show that the number of cases in England and Wales has
decreased significantly, from 16,047 cases in 1998 to 9757 cases in
2003 mainly due to industry control programmes, including the
vaccination of chicken flocks.
According to the British Egg Information Service total production in
the UK is around 8,800 tonnes per annum with a current value in the
region of £16.3 million.
The Egg Comes Back
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MTUmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2MzUwMTUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNQ==
The egg comes back
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
By ABIGAIL LEICHMAN
STAFF WRITER
PETER MONSEES / THE RECORD
Forget the old chicken-and-egg riddle. That's a no-brainer compared to
the modern shopping dilemma of which eggs to buy. Brown? White?
Cage-free? Vegetarian? And what exactly IS a vegetarian egg, anyway?
According to Linda Braun, consumer services director for the American
Egg Board, the majority of us still buy the plain old white-shelled
eggs on special at the supermarket. However, she said, "We've become a
nation of niche markets, and producers are trying hard to fill them."
Eggs are losing their bad-boy image as food scientists find out more
about them. Yes, yolks contain lots of cholesterol - but now we know
that they also contain a lecithin compound that greatly limits how
much of that cholesterol is absorbed by the body. Yes, they contain
fat - but most of it is the "healthy," unsaturated kind.
And there's lots of good stuff inside that shell, too: protein, iron,
zinc, vitamins A, B, D and E; lutein and zeaxanthin, two nutrients
that promote good vision and healthy eyes; and choline, which is
important for fetal brain development. It makes no difference if
they're brown- or white-shelled. Brown eggs simply come from
red-feathered hens rather than white-feathered hens.
As eggs are returning to plates, many consumers are willing to pay
more to have eggs with added nutritional benefits. Others are more
concerned about the living conditions of the hens that lay them.
American egg farmers - who own some 240 million laying hens that
produce approximately 5.5 billion dozen eggs per year - mostly keep
the birds in cages, partly for sanitary reasons and partly for
convenience. That is slowly changing.
"I'm the third generation in a family business that started in 1917,"
said John Brunnquell, president of Wisconsin-based Egg Innovations,
the largest uncaged-egg company in the country. "We eliminated caged
production in 2000 and made a full and complete commitment to animal
welfare and good choices for consumers."
Each of the typically Amish and Mennonite family egg farms in Indiana
and Ohio under contract with Egg Innovations specializes in one type
of product, although all use only vegetarian feed.
"We try to profile each consumer and identify their desires and match
our eggs to their lifestyle," said Brunnquell. The company offers four
types:
Cage-free, a "normal egg" produced by chickens kept on a barnyard
floor. This is for the consumer who is concerned about animal welfare.
Organic, defined by federal law to mean the laying hens have access to
outdoors and sunlight; get only organic feed; and are third-party
certified by a federal inspector. Nutritionally, they are the same as
other eggs.
Vegetarian cage-free, aimed at lacto-ovo vegetarians who may need
supplemental nutritional features. The hens that produce these eggs
get fed extra luteins, antioxidants and choline.
Omega-3, eggs from hens whose feed contains flaxseed in order to pass
along heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It's also common to use
algae, canola oil or fish oil to boost omega-3 content.
Other companies offer additional choices:
Free-range, which means the chickens are allowed to roam outside.
Organic eggs are free-range by definition, but not all free-range eggs
come from organically raised hens.
Cholesterol-reduced. New Jersey-based Eggland's Best, for example,
says its eggs have 180 milligrams of cholesterol compared with 215
milligrams in an ordinary egg. These eggs also have less fat and more
nutrients such as vitamin E and lutein. The company, which offers
cage-free and organic options as well, has become the leading national
brand.
Still confused? It only gets worse.
Food scientists such as Rutgers University's Joe Rosen aren't
convinced that these "niche eggs" are worth the extra cost.
Omega-3, for example, "is thought to be healthful, although the FDA
still refuses to give it the same status as, say, calcium for [the
prevention of] osteoporosis. And for the amount of it you get in eggs
you'd have to eat an awful lot of eggs," Rosen said. "Even though eggs
aren't considered as bad as they were, if you eat too many you'll be
getting too much cholesterol in your diet."
"Free-range" is a term fraught with controversy because it is not
regulated. According to the Wellness Letter put out by the University
of California at Berkeley in September, few "free-range" hens are
actually raised outdoors, and some might spend no more than five
minutes a day outside the barn.
"Hormone-free" and "antibiotic-free" claims are meaningless, said
Braun, because it's illegal to give hormones to poultry, and
antibiotics are never given to healthy egg-laying hens. So even the
bargain supermarket eggs are hormone- and antibiotic-free, even if it
doesn't say so on the label.
Although it is legal to include animal byproducts in chicken feed, the
industry is moving toward all-vegetarian feed, Braun added. Most hens
eat a mash of sorghum, corn, cottonseed or soybean meal, or a mixture.
The yolk color depends on the color of the feed.
As for taste, most taste tests confirm that there's not much
difference among all those eggs available in your market. Eggland's
Best received a top rating from the American Tasting Institute the
past two years, but only farm-fresh eggs get consistent raves.
Finally, a word on size. Hens lay increasingly larger eggs as they
grow older. Heat, stress, overcrowding and poor nutrition can lead to
smaller eggs. A jumbo egg weighs about 2½ ounces; extra large, 2¼
ounces; large, 2 ounces; and medium, 1¾ ounces. Most baking recipes
call for large eggs. Otherwise, it's a matter of preference.
E-mail: leichman@northjersey.com
We Owe Some Thanks To A Guy Who Helped Develop the Demand For Egg White Powder.
The history of the egg industry is one that I find fascinating. WhenI began in the industry there were still some of the 'old time' buyersstill around that everyone talked about. This summer a guy that manyof us who have sold egg white powder owe some thanks to. William A.Mitchell, the food guru who helped General Foods decide to sell acomplete angel food cake mix. When he convinced the powers that bethat this should happen it caused egg driers in the US to switch fromjust drying whole egg or yolk powder to beginning to producing highquality egg white powder. Dan Gardner, my mentor at Waldbaums, toldme once that when General Foods began asking for egg white powder itwas very helpful; frozen egg whites were cheaper than the cost of thecan alone and they were running out of warehouse space to store it.Drying egg white powder isn't anything new; The Chinese were whippingegg white powder into a foam and then airdrying it and grinding it upsince the middle ages but William Mitchell helped spawn the industrywhich now is a major one worldwide. I salute Mr. Mitchell and presentfor you a story that I saw about him in Atlanta Magazine. DeanHughson, THE EGGMANMAN OF TASTEWilliam A Mitchell, 1911-2004William A Mitchell never became a household name, but most householdsyou can name have something of his in it – Cool Whip, quick-setJell-O, egg whites for cake mix… He gave American astronauts the firstspace-age beverage (Tang) and impressionable adolescents one of thegreat urban legends (Pop Rocks). Bill Mitchell's inventions are not toeveryone's taste. Once, for a BBC show about Thanksgiving, I servedMartha Stewart a pumpkin pie with Cool Whip, and she wasn't happyabout it. As it happens, Martha and Bill Mitchell both have Nutley,New Jersey in common. In the year of Martha's birth, 1941, BillMitchell started work as a chemist at General Foods and briefly livedin Nutley. As he was developing Cool Whip, Martha's parents were
Business-wise, the former beats the latter. Originally developed astime-saving substitutes for various elementary kitchen needs, theKraft/General Foods repertory has multiplied and mutated, and theproducts which Mitchell and his colleagues developed live happilywithin a self-contained universe. To make Kraft\'s Classic Angel FlakeCoconut Cake you need a 7 oz bag of Baker\'s Angel Flake Coconut, apackage of yellow cake mix, a package of Jell-O White ChocolateInstant Pudding, and a tub of Cool Whip. It\'s like modular furniture:sometimes you put Cool Whip in the Jell-O, sometimes you put Jell-O inthe Cool Whip. But it\'s an all-or-nothing world. It would beunsettling and intrusive to replace the Cool Whip with Martha\'s recipefor crème anglaise.And yet, if you\'re at a county fair or a church bazaar and you buy thelocal fundraising cookbook, you notice how in a relatively shortperiod (Cool Whip, the world\'s first non-dairy whipped topping, datesback only to 1966) Bill Mitchell\'s products have become the greatstaples of "down-home cooking" and traditional "family recipes". Inthe Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department Cookbook from Tunbridge,Vermont, for example, Mary Vermette\'s excellent "Pudding Dessert"requires for the first layer 2 sticks of oleo, 2 cups of flour, 1 cupof chopped nuts (mix and bake); for the second layer, 1 cup ofconfectioner\'s sugar, 8 oz of cream cheese, 1 cup of Cool Whip(combine and spread on the first layer); for the third layer, 2 smallpackages of instant pudding and 2 ½ cups of milk (mix and spread onthe second layer); and for the fourth layer more Cool Whip sprinkledwith chopped nuts. I made it and ate it in the interests of research,and had such a good time I clean forgot what it was I was meant to beresearching.Still, you don\'t have to eschew Mitchell\'s products as ostentatiouslyas Martha Stewart does to feel that they might not be the best for",1]
);
//-->
developing the anti-Cool Whip.Business-wise, the former beats the latter. Originally developed astime-saving substitutes for various elementary kitchen needs, theKraft/General Foods repertory has multiplied and mutated, and theproducts which Mitchell and his colleagues developed live happilywithin a self-contained universe. To make Kraft's Classic Angel FlakeCoconut Cake you need a 7 oz bag of Baker's Angel Flake Coconut, apackage of yellow cake mix, a package of Jell-O White ChocolateInstant Pudding, and a tub of Cool Whip. It's like modular furniture:sometimes you put Cool Whip in the Jell-O, sometimes you put Jell-O inthe Cool Whip. But it's an all-or-nothing world. It would beunsettling and intrusive to replace the Cool Whip with Martha's recipefor crème anglaise.And yet, if you're at a county fair or a church bazaar and you buy thelocal fundraising cookbook, you notice how in a relatively shortperiod (Cool Whip, the world's first non-dairy whipped topping, datesback only to 1966) Bill Mitchell's products have become the greatstaples of "down-home cooking" and traditional "family recipes". Inthe Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department Cookbook from Tunbridge,Vermont, for example, Mary Vermette's excellent "Pudding Dessert"requires for the first layer 2 sticks of oleo, 2 cups of flour, 1 cupof chopped nuts (mix and bake); for the second layer, 1 cup ofconfectioner's sugar, 8 oz of cream cheese, 1 cup of Cool Whip(combine and spread on the first layer); for the third layer, 2 smallpackages of instant pudding and 2 ½ cups of milk (mix and spread onthe second layer); and for the fourth layer more Cool Whip sprinkledwith chopped nuts. I made it and ate it in the interests of research,and had such a good time I clean forgot what it was I was meant to beresearching.Still, you don't have to eschew Mitchell's products as ostentatiouslyas Martha Stewart does to feel that they might not be the best for
he died, and long after his retirement from General Foods continued tochip in ideas for his daughter Cheryl\'s company, California NaturalProducts. To a chemist, the line between "natural products" and"processed foods" is somewhat fuzzy. Starch technology, which isindispensable to the convenience food industry, goes back to ancienttimes. Bill Mitchell\'s contributions to the science stand at aninnocent mid-point between the separation of starch from grain firstnoted by Cato in 170 BC and the brave new world of geneticallymodified food that so terrifies the Europeans and the anti-globalists.Some of Mitchell\'s inventions were specifically for children (IncredaBubble carbonated gum), but even the grown-up ones are child-like:they\'re designed not just to shorten cooking time but to extend thesweet tooth of grade-school birthday-partygoers through adult life.Cool Whip is a little too sweet, a little too sugary ever to bemistaken for "natural". By "sugary", of course, I don\'t mean sugar:Looking through the ingredients, one finds nothing labeled as such butplenty of palm kernel oils and sorbitan monostearate and "less thantwo percent of sodium caseinate". In the European Union, they give allthese additives "E numbers" – E912 (ontanic acid esters), E1202(polyvinylpolypyrrolidone), E1442 (hydroxy propyl distarch phosphate),to name some of my all-time favorite numbers - which make it soundlike the random draw of a megabucks lottery. Who, other than BillMitchell and a few other specialists, understands the precisecombination which makes it just slightly too sweet enough? If you putin 2.4% of sodium caseinate, would it all go to hell?He was born in 1911 in Raymond, Minnesota, spent his early years on afarm, and then, after the death of his father, moved into the town ofRocky Ford. By eight, he was picking peas and beans for local farmers;",1]
);
//-->
one's health. They were certainly good for Mitchell's: he was 92 whenhe died, and long after his retirement from General Foods continued tochip in ideas for his daughter Cheryl's company, California NaturalProducts. To a chemist, the line between "natural products" and"processed foods" is somewhat fuzzy. Starch technology, which isindispensable to the convenience food industry, goes back to ancienttimes. Bill Mitchell's contributions to the science stand at aninnocent mid-point between the separation of starch from grain firstnoted by Cato in 170 BC and the brave new world of geneticallymodified food that so terrifies the Europeans and the anti-globalists.Some of Mitchell's inventions were specifically for children (IncredaBubble carbonated gum), but even the grown-up ones are child-like:they're designed not just to shorten cooking time but to extend thesweet tooth of grade-school birthday-partygoers through adult life.Cool Whip is a little too sweet, a little too sugary ever to bemistaken for "natural". By "sugary", of course, I don't mean sugar:Looking through the ingredients, one finds nothing labeled as such butplenty of palm kernel oils and sorbitan monostearate and "less thantwo percent of sodium caseinate". In the European Union, they give allthese additives "E numbers" – E912 (ontanic acid esters), E1202(polyvinylpolypyrrolidone), E1442 (hydroxy propyl distarch phosphate),to name some of my all-time favorite numbers - which make it soundlike the random draw of a megabucks lottery. Who, other than BillMitchell and a few other specialists, understands the precisecombination which makes it just slightly too sweet enough? If you putin 2.4% of sodium caseinate, would it all go to hell?He was born in 1911 in Raymond, Minnesota, spent his early years on afarm, and then, after the death of his father, moved into the town ofRocky Ford. By eight, he was picking peas and beans for local farmers;
rented land from the American Beet Sugar Company and was growing cornand tomatoes. That autumn, he went to junior high during the day,helped with the harvest for American Beet Sugar all night, and sleptfrom 4.30 to 6.30 am. After working his way through college, Bill gota research job at an Agricultural Experiment Station in Lincoln,Nebraska, whose lab promptly blew up leaving him with second and thirddegree burns over most of his body.His first big success came with a tapioca substitute developed duringWorld War Two when "tapioca supplies were running low," as theAssociated Press put it. War is hell. In fact, tapioca, a starchysubstance in hard grains from cassava, came mainly from the far east,and, with supply lines disrupted, that presented problems for packagedfood. You can be sniffy about preservatives in peacetime, but in waran army marches on its stomach and food is a national security issue.Mitchell, in developing an alternative to tapioca, helped facilitatethe huge expansion of the processed food business in the Forties andFifties.Some innovations were happy accidents. Pop Rocks began in the Fifties,as an attempt to create an instant carbonated drink that went awry.Though they took 20 years to reach the market, they were a huge hitwith kids: when you put the fruit-flavored candy in your mouth, ittriggered the carbonation, creating a mini-explosion complete withsound-effect. Almost immediately, rumors started about theirpotentially lethal effects. It was said that, if you ate Pop Rockswhile sipping a Coke, the candy would react with the beverage and thecarbonation combination would cause a massive gas explosion blastingapart your stomach. That was what had happened to Little Mikey, thecute boy in the Life cereal commercials. He\'d popped a couple of PopRocks while chugging a Pepsi and he\'d exploded in a horrible death.",1]
);
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by 13, he was subbing for the older melon-packing boys; by 18, he'drented land from the American Beet Sugar Company and was growing cornand tomatoes. That autumn, he went to junior high during the day,helped with the harvest for American Beet Sugar all night, and sleptfrom 4.30 to 6.30 am. After working his way through college, Bill gota research job at an Agricultural Experiment Station in Lincoln,Nebraska, whose lab promptly blew up leaving him with second and thirddegree burns over most of his body.His first big success came with a tapioca substitute developed duringWorld War Two when "tapioca supplies were running low," as theAssociated Press put it. War is hell. In fact, tapioca, a starchysubstance in hard grains from cassava, came mainly from the far east,and, with supply lines disrupted, that presented problems for packagedfood. You can be sniffy about preservatives in peacetime, but in waran army marches on its stomach and food is a national security issue.Mitchell, in developing an alternative to tapioca, helped facilitatethe huge expansion of the processed food business in the Forties andFifties.Some innovations were happy accidents. Pop Rocks began in the Fifties,as an attempt to create an instant carbonated drink that went awry.Though they took 20 years to reach the market, they were a huge hitwith kids: when you put the fruit-flavored candy in your mouth, ittriggered the carbonation, creating a mini-explosion complete withsound-effect. Almost immediately, rumors started about theirpotentially lethal effects. It was said that, if you ate Pop Rockswhile sipping a Coke, the candy would react with the beverage and thecarbonation combination would cause a massive gas explosion blastingapart your stomach. That was what had happened to Little Mikey, thecute boy in the Life cereal commercials. He'd popped a couple of PopRocks while chugging a Pepsi and he'd exploded in a horrible death.
Little Mikey didn\'t explode. Nor did his career, which is why, likemany child stars of TV commercials, you never saw him on anything oncethe ad stopped running. But a quarter-century after becoming theconfectioner\'s equivalent of the Abbey Road cover Little Mikey wasworking as an account manager at a New York radio station. BillMitchell and General Foods took out advertisements in 45 newspapers,and the FDA set up a special hotline, but the stories persisted. It\'sapparently true that a shipment of Pop Rocks managed to blow the doorsoff an overheated delivery truck. But turning your stomach into BikiniAtoll was strictly an urban myth. If there was anything to it, IslamicJihad would be bulk ordering.There\'s something rather appealing about dangerous food. Instantlydangerous, that is, not cumulatively. America has the most regulatedfood in the developed world yet it also has the fattest people in theworld, with the exception of the hearty trenchermen of Nauru and a fewother dots in the Pacific. There surely is a cautionary tale in thelimitations of big government, at least in respect of its ability toconstrain big citizens. Not all of this is due to Bill Mitchell\'scontributions to the American diet, but in his last years, serving aseminence grise to his daughter\'s company, he seemed morehealth-conscious than at General Foods.When Cheryl Mitchell persuaded her then husband to grow some dahliason their land, it was her dad who suggested roasting their inulin-richtubers. It produced a brown substance with a coffee-like taste whichthe Mitchells began marketing as Dacopa, a coffee substitute withhealth benefits. It never caught on in a big way. Mitchell didn\'tforesee that, in an age of convenience foods, coffee would head in theother direction and become the ultimate inconvenience food. In the olddays, you\'d say, "Gimme a cup o\' java" and the waitress would slide it",1]
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That's how come you didn't see him on TV anymore.Little Mikey didn't explode. Nor did his career, which is why, likemany child stars of TV commercials, you never saw him on anything oncethe ad stopped running. But a quarter-century after becoming theconfectioner's equivalent of the Abbey Road cover Little Mikey wasworking as an account manager at a New York radio station. BillMitchell and General Foods took out advertisements in 45 newspapers,and the FDA set up a special hotline, but the stories persisted. It'sapparently true that a shipment of Pop Rocks managed to blow the doorsoff an overheated delivery truck. But turning your stomach into BikiniAtoll was strictly an urban myth. If there was anything to it, IslamicJihad would be bulk ordering.There's something rather appealing about dangerous food. Instantlydangerous, that is, not cumulatively. America has the most regulatedfood in the developed world yet it also has the fattest people in theworld, with the exception of the hearty trenchermen of Nauru and a fewother dots in the Pacific. There surely is a cautionary tale in thelimitations of big government, at least in respect of its ability toconstrain big citizens. Not all of this is due to Bill Mitchell'scontributions to the American diet, but in his last years, serving aseminence grise to his daughter's company, he seemed morehealth-conscious than at General Foods.When Cheryl Mitchell persuaded her then husband to grow some dahliason their land, it was her dad who suggested roasting their inulin-richtubers. It produced a brown substance with a coffee-like taste whichthe Mitchells began marketing as Dacopa, a coffee substitute withhealth benefits. It never caught on in a big way. Mitchell didn'tforesee that, in an age of convenience foods, coffee would head in theother direction and become the ultimate inconvenience food. In the olddays, you'd say, "Gimme a cup o' java" and the waitress would slide it
juices up the espresso, lovingly spoons on the froth, gives it a shotof hazelnut flavoring, sprinkles it with cinnamon, adds a slice ofpepperoni and a couple of zebra mussels, and instead of a quarter it\'s$5.95. In its sheer simplicity, Dacopa seems to belong to a lostworld. A decaf Pop Rocks latte would have had a better shot.But in his heyday, Mitchell always understood that a successful"convenience food" is a blend of convenience and delight. He nevermade the mistake of Princess Ozma\'s scientific advisor, H. M.Wogglebug T.E., in L Frank Baum\'s Oz books:He took a bottle from his pocket and shook from it a tablet about thesize of one of Ojo\'s finger-nails.\'That,\' announced the Shaggy Man, \'is a square meal, in condensedform. Invention of the great Professor Wogglebug of the Royal Collegeof Athletics. It contains soup, fish, roast meat, salad,apple-dumplings, ice cream and chocolate-drops, all boiled down tothis small size, so it can be conveniently carried and swallowed whenyou are hungry and need a square meal.\'\'I\'m square,\' said the Woozy. \'Give me one, please…\'\'You have now had a six course dinner," declared the Shaggy Man.\'Pshaw!\' said the Woozy, ungratefully. "I want to taste something.There\'s no fun in that sort of eating.\'"Even devising crystal mixes for space-shot beverages, Bill Mitchellsubscribed to the fun of eating. Unlike Professor Wogglebug, increating food in the rhythm of modern life, he wasn\'t defeated by it.He\'s part of the taste of America, the stuff that gets under your skin– from the not entirely "home-made" pies rotating at the diner to thered, white and blue Jell-O salad at the Fourth of July fireworks.That\'s how he deserves to be celebrated: take 1 pkg of Jell-O, throwin 1 pkg of Cool Whip, add Tang, mix, lob in a couple of Pop Rocks,and stand well back.The Atlantic Monthly, November 2004",0]
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over the counter. Now you stand around for 20 minutes as the guyjuices up the espresso, lovingly spoons on the froth, gives it a shotof hazelnut flavoring, sprinkles it with cinnamon, adds a slice ofpepperoni and a couple of zebra mussels, and instead of a quarter it's$5.95. In its sheer simplicity, Dacopa seems to belong to a lostworld. A decaf Pop Rocks latte would have had a better shot.But in his heyday, Mitchell always understood that a successful"convenience food" is a blend of convenience and delight. He nevermade the mistake of Princess Ozma's scientific advisor, H. M.Wogglebug T.E., in L Frank Baum's Oz books:He took a bottle from his pocket and shook from it a tablet about thesize of one of Ojo's finger-nails.'That,' announced the Shaggy Man, 'is a square meal, in condensedform. Invention of the great Professor Wogglebug of the Royal Collegeof Athletics. It contains soup, fish, roast meat, salad,apple-dumplings, ice cream and chocolate-drops, all boiled down tothis small size, so it can be conveniently carried and swallowed whenyou are hungry and need a square meal.''I'm square,' said the Woozy. 'Give me one, please…''You have now had a six course dinner," declared the Shaggy Man.'Pshaw!' said the Woozy, ungratefully. "I want to taste something.There's no fun in that sort of eating.'"Even devising crystal mixes for space-shot beverages, Bill Mitchellsubscribed to the fun of eating. Unlike Professor Wogglebug, increating food in the rhythm of modern life, he wasn't defeated by it.He's part of the taste of America, the stuff that gets under your skin– from the not entirely "home-made" pies rotating at the diner to thered, white and blue Jell-O salad at the Fourth of July fireworks.That's how he deserves to be celebrated: take 1 pkg of Jell-O, throwin 1 pkg of Cool Whip, add Tang, mix, lob in a couple of Pop Rocks,and stand well back.The Atlantic Monthly, November 2004
3 existing egg farms get mixed reviews (article on Moark)
http://joplinglobe.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=152847&c=87
3 existing egg farms get mixed reviews
Company:Proposed Kansas farmwould be high-tech operation
Roger McKinney
Globe Staff Writer
1/4/05
GALENA, Kan. - Driving past the MOARK farm at Anderson, Mo., one
detects an odor that most people probably would consider unpleasant,
but not overwhelming.
Breathe deep. To some, it's the smell of commerce and jobs. To others,
it's potential environmental problems.
The source: 875,000 chickens.
"It's not that bad, really," said Matt Mullin, who lives just south of
the farm entrance, the nearest of any of the farm's neighbors. "We
hardly ever smell it, even being this close. If we do, we call them
and they do something about it."
Mullin said the smell is sometimes worse during the summer months, and
there are more flies and other insects then. He said it's not much
different from living in any other agricultural area where livestock
is raised.
Mullin raised a note of reservation.
"You don't know the long-term ramifications as far as well water and
things like that," he said. "That's maybe my only concern."
The proposal
MOARK, on its company Web site, claims to be the nation's
third-largest egg marketer and producer. Company officials last week
proposed to the Cherokee County commissioners an egg-production farm
to be built in two phases. The company plans to build three barns
housing a total of 600,000 hens, later expanding to 13 barns with a
total of 2.6 million hens.
The structures would be built on 217 acres inside the Jayhawk Fine
Chemicals complex between Riverton and Crestline. The company has
registered the land with the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment, and officials have said they soon will apply for a state
permit to operate the egg farm.
The proposal calls for 30 new jobs in the first phase, with 40
additional jobs in the second phase. The annual payroll would be
$750,000 in phase one, increasing to $1.5 million with phase two.
Hugh Vogel, MOARK byproducts manager, told the county commissioners
that when phase two was complete, three trucks an hour would leave the
operation for eight hours a day. The trucks would be filled with
chicken manure to be used as fertilizer on area fields.
Opponents have charged that the company would pollute Spring River and
deplete the area water supply. MOARK plans to use 200,000 gallons of
water a day at the operation when it reaches maximum capacity.
The Baxter Springs City Council last Tuesday approved a motion by
Councilman Dean Auman stating that the city would oppose the MOARK
proposal. A portion of the Baxter Springs water supply is surface
water from Spring River, and Auman said the intake from the river is
just a few miles from the proposed farm.
"Spring River has its own problems right now without adding other
problems," Auman said at the meeting.
Jim Dahmen, a Columbus business recruiter, told the county
commissioners that they don't need to worry about environmental
problems.
"They're not going to pollute the river," Dahmen said "They're not
going to pollute the land."
Asked last Wednesday how he could make such an assurance, Dahmen said
the business is tightly regulated.
"I think the important thing is this industry is regulated by state
and federal rules," Dahmen said. "If they don't comply, they're forced
to comply."
Dahmen said he doesn't deny there may be some odor. He said that is
why the barns would be at least 4,000 feet from the nearest residence.
Environmental violations
MOARK has three egg-production farms in Missouri with a total of more
than 2.4 million chickens: the one near Anderson, with 875,000 birds;
one in Newton County near Neosho, with 1.2 million birds; and one in
Jasper County near Fidelity, with about 350,000 birds. The farms are
classified by the state as concentrated animal feeding operations, or
CAFOs.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources inspected the three farms
a total of 13 times between Feb. 14, 2003, and Dec. 8, 2004. No
violations of law were found in those inspections, but the DNR listed
what it calls "unsatisfactory features" found during many of the
inspections that it asked the company to address. Some recent
inspections also noted good management of the farms and waste.
The most recent DNR violation notice was from an inspection in January
2002. MOARK was cited for spreading manure from its Newton County farm
too near a public road and a water well. The company also was cited
for having no certified wastewater operators.
The Missouri Department of Conservation investigated a fish kill that
happened May 18, 2002, in a farm pond on the property of Judy Crumme
in rural Stella. The agency listed MOARK as the alleged responsible
party. Poultry waste applied above the pond was listed as the cause.
The report listed 32,230 fish killed, with a value of $15,520. The
report stated that the pond owner told the investigator that MOARK had
expressed a willingness to restore the pond. There was no record as to
whether the company followed up. No phone number could be found for
Crumme.
The company has 15 DNR violation notices dating to September 1996 at
the three Missouri sites. That total does not include notices at the
Anderson farm before MOARK acquired it in 1997. No fines or other
punishment were assessed against the company for the violations, but
George Parsons, DNR environmental specialist in Neosho, said the
company was required to correct the individual violations after the
notices were issued.
MOARK officials have directed questions to Dan Hudgens, the company's
regional manager in Neosho. Hudgens has recently had laryngitis that
prevented him from responding to phone calls. On Thursday, he was
preparing to leave for a family member's funeral, which allowed for
only a brief conversation.
Hudgens said technological advances that have occurred since the
Missouri farms were built will allow the company to avoid some of the
situations experienced by older operations. He said the company has
the money to invest in the newest technology.
Dahmen echoed Hudgens.
"This is going to be a sophisticated plant, a high-tech operation," Dahmen said.
He said the proposal represents a $20 million investment by the company.
Parsons said the company has made improvements at its Missouri farms
that have reduced incidents of violations. He said the company has
perfected its composting of waste, making a drier product. He said he
has heard that the farm in Cherokee County would use technology in use
at MOARK's Colorado farms that reduces the amount of waste, reduces
the odor and produces a drier waste. He said the waste is easier to
handle and spread, and would be improved further with composting. He
said the company also markets its chicken waste to farmers in the
region.
"I think they've got a good track record now," Parsons said. "There is
always going to be potential for a truck wreck. Right now, they're
hauling to Kansas anyway."
Company background
Hollis Osborne began what was to become MOARK on a small scale in 1954
and began a commercial egg-production operation in 1959, according to
the company's Web site. MOARK Productions Inc. began in 1965. A photo
on the company's home page shows Osborne washing eggs by hand that he
had gathered by hand.
MOARK formed a partnership with Land O'Lakes Inc., best known for its
butter, in 2000. Under the agreement, Land O'Lakes owns 57.5 percent
of the company. Osborne's family continues to have a 42.5 percent
ownership interest in the company, according to details of the
agreement provided by Land O'Lakes.
Land O'Lakes had total sales of $6.3 billion in 2003, according to a
U.S. Department of Agriculture document. MOARK's total sales in 2003
were $552 million.
MOARK produces and markets eggs under the Egg-Land's Best label and
Land O'Lakes All-Natural Farm Fresh Eggs label, as well as private
labels. The company also produces egg products. The company has 22
egg-production operations in 10 states, and sells eggs and related
products in 29 states.
Its headquarters are in Chesterfield, Mo.
Land O'Lakes and MOARK in April issued a statement stating that the
two companies were trying to position MOARK for strategic growth.
In September, MOARK proposed establishing a 700,000-bird egg farm on
160 acres northwest of Welch, Okla. Opposition mobilized, and the
company apparently abandoned the idea. City officials in Chetopa, 11
miles north of Welch, courted the company. Mayor Gary Bryant said they
were unable to find suitable land.
Land and water
Opponents in Cherokee County said at a recent meeting in Riverton that
they would oppose the company's plan by pressuring the property owners
not to sell to the company and by pressuring water suppliers not to
provide it water.
The land is owned jointly by Rick Jessee and his wife, of rural
Columbus, and Crossland Holding Co., managed by Ivan Crossland Jr.
They bought the property on June 17, according to the Cherokee County
register of deeds.
Someone who answered the phone at the number listed for Jessee hung up
when he learned that a reporter was calling. Crossland did not return
telephone messages seeking comment.
Dahmen said last Wednesday that the landowners have an agreement with
MOARK, but the deed hasn't been filed. He said the property owners
bought the land to use as farmland and were not aware that MOARK would
be seeking it when they made the purchase.
On the water-supply issue, the state has placed a moratorium on new
deep wells being drilled for industrial purposes in Cherokee and
Crawford counties. Brett Warstler, chairman of the board for Rural
Water District No. 2, said at an opposition meeting that the district
cannot supply the company the amount of water it requires.
Opponents also have said the jobs the company would provide would pay poorly.
"They're going to create good-paying jobs," Dahmen told the county
commissioners last Monday.
Asked by the Globe to be more specific, Dahmen said jobs would start
around $8 an hour and increase to around $10 an hour, or about $21,000
a year. He said the company also would offer employees a
fringe-benefit package including health insurance and a 401(k) plan.
"They're going to come into the market with a competitive salary," Dahmen said.
Dahmen said he could not predict when the company would expand from
three barns, 600,000 chickens and 30 jobs to 13 barns, 2.6 million
chickens and 70 jobs.
"It really is a function of market demand," he said.
Dahmen said MOARK also would create a new market for local corn and
milo farmers.
'They don't want it'
Amy Hodson lives farther south of the Anderson MOARK farm than Mullin,
and the odor was not noticeable from her home last week. She said it
is worst in warm weather. "It stinks," Hodson said of living there.
"It gets really bad in the summertime.
"Dumping on the land and spreading everywhere, it's going to
eventually get in the wells."
Told that MOARK was planning a 2.6 million-bird farm across the state
line, Hodson responded: "They (the residents) don't want it."
Impact of new countries joining the EU on shell eggs and egg products
http://www.ispa.uni-vechta.de/staff/windhorst/lectures/iecpaper2003.doc
--
Dean Hughson, Fountain Hills, Arizona
'Eggs,writing, and rock n roll'
"más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo,"
the devil knows more from being old than from being the devil
Philippines Country Report on eggs
http://atn-riae.agr.ca/asean/e3454.htm
--
Dean Hughson, Fountain Hills, Arizona
'Eggs,writing, and rock n roll'
"más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo,"
the devil knows more from being old than from being the devil
Dean and Yoly Hughson, Paris France October 2003
With the egg industry going through rapid changes,it occurred to me that it would be a service if I could daily post whatever market info comes out and press releases. Thus, I am beginning to use this system to do that. If you have questions or thoughts write me at deanhughson@gmail.com or call me at 602-696-3248. Dean Hughson,THE EGGMAN-consultant to the egg industry, Fountain Hills,Arizona
2005 Egg Market outlook
Looking at statistics often sobers one quickly in a new year. But there are so many variables that one has to factor in.
For instance:
1. Flock size
The layer report for 2004 will come out end of January 2005 but the report January 27,2004 showed that Layer numbers during 2003 averaged 337 million. What is the real number going to be for the US? I see daily newspaper articles of new layer operations planned to go in. Are these new flocks or are they going to be replacement operations for older installations that need to go out? In talking to some major producers it appears that we are at a cycle where cages need to be replaced in many houses and many are using it as an opportunity to update equipment,etc. My guess is that we will see some increase in flock size (Dean's guess 2-3%) which will come out January 27,2005 at
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/poultry/pec-bbl
2. Ability to add chickens is more limited
It seems now that anytime an egg producer announces that they are going to add chickens in the US immediately groups are formed to protest the action citing potential damage to the environment,etc. This is causing quite a problem in predicting if there will be birds actually going in, after you read about announcements of a new operation being planned.
3. Egg products usage:
The break for 2004 will end up being up against 2003 by about 5% This indicates that food manufacturers are continuing to use egg products even in the face of some of the highest prices we've ever seen. With prices on shell eggs being more moderate in 2005 will we see increased usage? Our products are highly nutritious and a great source of protein and vitamins and consumers appear much more interested in nutrition these days than before. I predict that 2005 will see at least 5% more usage of products with egg whites continuing to be a sought after product especially.
4. World relief operations may help egg products.
With the events of December 26, 2004 now showing 5 million people affected in Sra Lanka, India, Indonesia, Maldives and Thailand someone is going to have to feed these people. It would appear to me that UN Relief operations will consider eggs as something that could easily be supplied in a dried basis. For instance if they decided to feed the 5 million people 2 eggs equivalent a day (using spray dried whole egg) it would call for the equivalent of 28,000 cases of shell eggs a day or 280,000 lbs a day of whole egg powder; even if they only bought 20% of this it would be a major boost in usage and could lead to a stronger market. Knowing UEP and AEB I am certain that meetings are in the works with relief operations to try and promote the use of eggs.
5. Consolidation:
I believe that major consolidation of egg producers and egg products manufacturers has reached a plateau. I do not believe you will much more consolidation. Thus the remaining players must become very good at cost cutting and marketing to achieve even the same level of growth they have had in the past years. Are we a fully mature egg industry?
6. Export possibilities:
It is extremely difficult to predict exact numbers of exports but with the continuing issues of banning cages in Europe one has to think that ultimately Europe is going to be a major importing region; not the major exporter it has been. This creates some possibilities for US, Mexican, and South American egg producers and egg products manufacturers.
7. Price predictions:
I believe egg white powder will rebound to the USD3-3.25 range in the spring of 2005. I base that on demand increasing and yolk demand remaining constant. Mayonnaise consumption continues to be fairly good worldwide. Liquid salt yolk pricing should be back to 60-70 cents/lb in tankers by spring 2005 also; the temporary cheap prices can't last. Frozen whole egg pricing should go back into the 50 cent/lb range as bakers come back alive.
Let's hope that 2005 is a good year for us all. Keeping an eye on the bottom line is the most important thing in a market like this.
